MR Brendan O'Donnell denied at the Central Criminal Court yesterday that he had come up with "a story" about hearing the devil's voice telling him to kill Imelda Riney and Father Joseph Walsh because he wanted to be found guilty but insane.
"It's not a story, it's the truth", he said.
He denied he had "come up" with the devil's voice as an explanation for the killings because he wanted to be sent to the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum rather than to prison.
He also denied he was "killing for pleasure, stealing cars for pleasure and not hearing any voices at all".
Mr O'Donnell further disagreed with a suggestion that he had been a "Peeping Tom" outside Imelda Riney's house in Co Clare prior to the time he shot her.
Mr O'Donnell (21), a native of Co Clare but of no fixed abode was being cross examined by Mr Kevin Haugh SC, prosecuting, on the 34th day of his trial on 12 charges.
He has denied the murder of Imelda Riney (29) and her son Liam (3) between April 28th and May 8th, 1994. He also denied the murder of Father Joseph Walsh (37), the former curate of Eyrecourt, Co Galway, between May 3rd and 8th, 1994 and the false imprisonment of Father Walsh.
Mr O'Donnell has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping Ms Fiona Sampson and Mr Edward Cleary on May 7th 1994 and to hijacking vehicles driven by both persons. He has also denied having a shotgun and ammunition with intent to endanger life and for unlawful purposes on the same date.
The trial was adjourned yesterday morning until 3 p.m. when Mr Haugh resumed his cross examination of Mr O'Donnell.
Counsel asked Mr O'Donnell had he watched women through their windows. Mr O'Donnell said he had watched only one woman. He agreed he had spied on the woman but denied he was stalking her. He agreed he was a Peeping Tom but said he did not remember why he was doing it.
He denied he was "doing a Peeping Tom" at Imelda Riney's house.
He said he did not know one of Imelda Riney's sisters through watching her house. He said he knew all of the dead woman's sisters because a staff member at the Central Mental Hospital used to go out with one of them and he had told Mr O'Donnell their names.
Mr O'Donnell agreed he had probably killed Imelda and Liam Riney by lunchtime on Friday April 29th, 1994. He said he then stayed in Ms Riney's car in the wood and fell asleep. That night he went to his granny's house and then returned to the car where he slept until the following morning.
When he woke up, he set fire to the car, Mr O'Donnell said. Then he went to the house of his uncle, Mr Paddy Monaghan. He said he had forgotten killing Ms Riney and Liam at that stage and did not recall the killings until he heard on the radio on May 8th that a woman's body had been found.
He said he thought the car he had burned that morning was one he had stolen in Scariff. He said Imelda Riney's car was well known to him. He denied he had burned the car so it could not be connected to him.
"I always burned cars because I liked it," he said.
Mr O'Donnell agreed the devil had told him to kill Ms Fiona Sampson. He said he could have disobeyed the devil. "I'm his son, it's up to me," he said. He said he had decided to obey him when he went to Ms Sampson's house on May 7th, 1994.
He said he recalled telling Ms Sampson he wouldn't kill or rape her. That was because he got to like her, he said. He said the devil had told him to kill her. He said he had told her if he had to kill her, he would kill her quickly.
He denied that on the morning he was with Ms Sampson his thinking was that of "a cold and calculating man on the run knowing what you are about". Mr O'Donnell said that was not true and said he could have got rid of the gun.
Mr O'Donnell said he had not told gardai in Loughrea he had "bluffed" the doctors in Dundrum. He said he had not bluffed the doctors and had told gardai he was in Dundrum in 1990. He said he could have told the gardai about meeting John Gallagher, who was found guilty but insane of the murder of his girlfriend and her mother, in Dundrum.
Mr O'Donnell said he would not have had a preference for Dundrum over prison on the day of his arrest in May 1994. He did not know when he developed a preference, he said. He agreed he did prefer Dundrum.
He agreed he had faked a spelling test in Dundrum "because Dr (Charles) Smith would believe then that I was sick". He said he wanted Dr Smith to believe him so he "would treat me". He denied he had done deliberately badly at tests so people would believe he was insane.
Asked who he had told about hearing the devil's voice, Mr O'Donnell said he thought he had told Dr Bran McCaffrey, a consultant psychiatrist with the Eastern Health Board, about the voice.
He said he did not think he had lever said that his solicitor, Mr Garret Sheehan, was a pretty lady in a lovely dress. He denied that it was just in recent times that he had explained his calling everyone he met Seamus by reference to voices telling him to do so.
Asked why he had never told the gardai that he had killed Imelda and Liam Riney and Father Walsh in response to voices from the devil, he said he would not tell the gardai anything because they were "scumbags". "I don't like them."
He said he knew on Sunday May 8th that he had killed Imelda and Liam Riney and said his mind went blank about the killings then for some months. The picture came back with the help of Dr McCaffrey, he said.
Mr O'Donnell agreed he knew if he was found guilty but insane he would get to stay in Dundrum.
Mr Haugh put to Mr O'Donnell it was in his interest to make up a story about what he did. He suggested Mr O'Donnell had "come up with his explanation now because he wanted a verdict of guilty but insane.
"I've come up with this because it's the truth as I swore on oath," Mr O'Donnell said. He denied he was "adding to the story" as the case went on.
Asked had he enjoyed killing Imelda Riney, he said he "liked its a lot".
He said he liked killing Liam Riney as well and had enjoyed killing Father Walsh even more.
The trial continues today before Mr Justice Lavan and the jury.